A New Age Dawning

By Martha Smilgis

Sunday, Aug. 16, 5 a.m. The faithful arrived on the shores of the Atlantic. At Sagaponack Beach on Long Island, N.Y., they spread their blankets, then sat down, crossed their legs, closed their eyes, lifted palms upward and waited intently for the sunrise. With the first blush of light across the horizon, the throng unleashed a high-velocity "oommm" that rivaled a swarm of yellow jackets.

The same morning, at an Indian burial site in Cartersville, Ga., 75 believers gathered. They sat in small groups and burned incense and sage. One man produced a tortoiseshell on which he arranged some amethysts. As the darkness dissolved, yoga practitioners began a series of alarming birdlike maneuvers.

On Mount Shasta in northern California, 5,000 pilgrims shivered on the rocky, fir-covered slopes. Before the sun's rays warmed the night, a solitary woman, crouching on a sheepskin, began to beat a drum. Sounds of flutes and songs filled the air, and tears streamed down the faces of three women wrapped in Indian blankets. They passionately believed the solemn intonation of Participant Shirley Stanfield: "Expect to be changed forever."

What was going on here? Well, it all seems to have started in the inventive head of Jose Arguelles, an erstwhile art historian who is a dedicated publicist for his book The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology (Bear Publishing; Santa Fe). To anyone who would listen, Arguelles argued that his studies of ancient Mayan calendars showed that the "materialistic" world would end on Aug. 16 -- when three planets lined up with the new moon -- unless 144,000 true believers gathered in various "sacred sites" around the world and "resonated" sufficiently to bring on a new age of peace and harmony.

Through the New Age cults, which include devotees of Indian gurus, flying saucers, holistic medicine, tarot cards and you name it, the word spread: the sky is falling. Alternate version: let's have a party, potluck, and bring your own drums. A Palo Alto, Calif., outfit called Global Family set up a telephone network. And since this is August and there isn't much news, the press got out its own drums.

- The harmonic linkups attracted TV crews, the vaguely curious, hi-tech yuppies, shaggy hipsters and even the odd businessman. Said one Wall Street investment banker who went to Sagaponack: "I never thought I'd get involved in this sort of thing. It's easy to pass off the group as certifiable, but the more people who are continuously working on overcoming conflict, the happier we'll be."

Many of the New Agers brought their crystals to expose to the rising sun so the gems would be "charged" with its energy. Joyce Rennolds, who wore a cluster around her neck, explained, "These do for the body what microchips do for the computer." Other satisfied participants had warm memories. Said Jackie Murray, who climbed Harvey Peak in South Dakota with her husband and two children: "I hope that is the tranquillity we feel when we die. I do believe something universally happened this weekend."

As for the prophetic planetary lineup, Dr. William Gooch of Hayden Planetarium in Manhattan affirms that Mars, Venus and Mercury will pass behind the sun during the last week of August. But, he adds, "as far as science is concerned, there is absolutely nothing unusual about the day. Events like this happen quite regularly. It just depends on which group of planets you choose to pick. The only cycle I see is that a lot of people want to get back to hippie days."

With reporting by Mary Cronin/New York and Michael Riley/Mount Shasta